Mont Harmon Junior High basketball teams bring home plenty of riches

Despite starting off their region season on a down note, the Mont Harmon boys basketball team knows that hard work can pay off in the end.

The Mont Harmon boys lost their first three games in region play before going on a four-game winning streak that pushed them towards the Castle Valley Athletic Association Championship.

After defeating Canyon View 53-40 in the semifinals of the region tournament, the Pirates found themselves in the championship game against their rivals from Helper Junior High. Using a balanced offensive attack, the Pirates were able to put away the rival Rams 58-41 to claim the CVAA Championship last week.

During the team's winning streak they defeated San Rafael (49-45), Canyon View (54-41) and Helper (66-55) to finish out the regular season. They defeated Canyon View in the semifinals of the CVAA playoffs and followed that up with the win over Helper in the championship.

Head coach Ryan Maughan said his team played hard over the season and played even better when CVAA tournament play started.

"Playing with a new coach and a new system, the boys played better as a team as the season progressed," Maughan said.

The Mont Harmon Junior High girls basketball team

The Mont Harmon Junior High girls basketball team had plenty to smile about after defeating Canyon View 47-45 in the Castle Valley Athletic Association tournament final last week.

The Lady Pirates finished region play with a 5-1 record and went into the CVAA tournament by defeating rival Helper Junior High in the semifinals.

Then in the championship game against Canyon View, the Lady Pirates were down by eight points heading into the fourth quarter. Head coach Doug Morris said the team began pressing Canyon which caused turnovers and led to scoring opportunities for Mont Harmon. An eight point deficit turned into a 10 point lead for the Lady Pirates in the fourth quarter before holding on for the two point win securing the victory in the championship game.

"We ended the game very strong," said Morris. "It's fun to see the girls do so well despite being down early in the fourth quarter."